Orchid
by undertheclouds
Summary: Most people underestimate the beauty held in "Greenhouse One," but not Orchid. One beautiful day causes her to make a trip down to her favorite place. However, she finds that she isn't alone...


Disclaimer: I own Orchid. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

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><p>It was a glorious Saturday in the month of October, and Orchid Flores decided that it was just too beautiful of a day to waste indoors. She grabbed her cloak, climbed out of the portrait hole and headed down the numerous staircases to the entrance of the school. She opened the old door and slipped out into the bright sunlight. She shielded her large, chocolate brown eyes from the sudden burst of light.<p>

The Hogwarts grounds were breathtaking... even more so than usual. The abundance of trees that splattered amongst the ground no longer had lush leaves of green. Instead, they were painted rich, deep purples, greens, and reds, symbolizing the colorful changes in autumn. The air was crisp and clean with a gentle breeze. The soft wind was cool and refreshing, and caused Orchids long brown hair to whip around dreamily.

She sighed and smiled, taking in her picturesque view. She loved nature. Every moment she could spend outdoors was time well spent in her mind. There was nothing worse than wasting a beautiful day inside with scraping quills against parchment and soft snores coming from the common room chairs when you can enjoy the day walking around outside.

Orchid was in her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sorting hat deemed her brave enough to be a Gryffindor and she was in the famous Harry Potter's year. Though she could say that she was his friend, she knew next to nothing about him. In fact, she didn't have many friends at all. As a very quiet girl, it was very hard for her to make many friends. Orchid was content with a few great friends rather than a multitude of acquaintances.

She made her way through the grounds with purpose. Her absolute favorite spot in the world was "Greenhouse One." The non-threatening magical flowers were absolutely beautiful, blooming chaotically around the room. Even though she was still a good ways away from her destination, she could spot the intense colors of what lay inside. And of course for good measure, Professor Sprout added a few muggle plants for show. Orchid's favorite flower was, naturally, the orchid.

She pushed open the creaky door and was hit with the strong aroma of hundreds of different flora. Though it was quite a nauseating shock the first Herbology class she had her first year, she because accustomed to this smell. The different notes of the unique plants created an interesting layer of fragrance, which if one tried hard enough, could actually smell each different scent. It was beautiful, and for lack of a better word, magical.

Most people did not care for "Greenhouse One." _It's boring_, groaned Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw also in fifth-year. Orchid rolled her eyes. No one seemed to appreciate the not-so-subtle beauty of this room. No one except Neville Longbottom.

The corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily into a grin when she thought of one of her closest friends. Neville Longbottom was a round-faced boy with a golden heart who was a fellow fifth-year Gryffindor. Neville was the only one to understand her fascination with this old greenhouse. Neville was the only one who understood _her._ He was so sweet and caring, and Orchid had fallen for him sometime between first and fifth year.

Orchid began walking around the greenhouse, admiring all of the fantastic and ordinary plants around her. There were Bouncing Bulbs to her right, bobbing up and down playfully in their pots. Large pink balls known as Puffapods were scattered around the Bouncing Bulbs in a lovely fashion. Orchid was tempted to drop one (if one hits the ground, they burst into magnificent flowers), but she stopped herself. Professor Sprout would not be happy to find bits of non-magical flowers around the greenhouse.

She laughed as she heard Professor Sprout's Honking Daffodils coming from the corner. Though most people specified that they liked mundane daffodils better, Orchid and Neville thought they were funny. In the corner next to the loud flowers was a lone Flutterby bush, quivering where it lay.

Though the many magical plants were interesting, Orchid passed by most of them without a second thought. She headed straight to the far side of the classroom to see how her orchids were growing. Orchid was a muggle born and had many orchids growing around her house which is how she got her name. As a belated Christmas present, she gave Professor Sprout a large bunch of them. Since receiving the gift, Sprout has potted them and they have flourished impressively. However, when she reached her destination, she found that she was not the only one in the greenhouse.

Neville was watering the orchids. Neville was so good with the plants; she could almost see them sigh with thankfulness when the water hit their parched soil. The orchids glowed with their nourishment. The light pink petals faded into white around the edges, and there was an explosion of red near the center, outlined strikingly with white.

"Thank you for watering them," Orchid said quietly, causing Neville to jump with surprise. He dropped watering vessel on the floor, causing water to spill everywhere. He nearly slipped in the puddle.

"Orchid!" He exclaimed when he saw her. Though he was planning on being very frustrated and upset with whoever interrupted him, his face softened as soon as he saw his friend's beautiful face staring back at him. Neville was always a sucker for her large brown eyes. He could never be mad at Orchid.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have surprised you like that," Orchid said with a smile. She waved her wand and the water disappeared from the floor. She picked up what Neville dropped and handed it to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same question," Neville said kindly, taking the watering can from her. He muttered "_aguamenti"_ under his breath, and a slow stream of water burst out from his wand and into the watering can. Neville didn't like to use this spell directly on the plants; like Professor Sprout, he believed it to be too harsh.

"I didn't want to waste away inside. It's too beautiful of a day to stay in the castle," she said, standing next to him to observe the flowers. "So I came here. It's my favorite."

Neville shifted uncomfortably next to his friend, his pulse slowly racing. "Yeah, I know," he said softly, beginning to water the flowers in front of them.

They stood there in silence for some time, enjoying each other's company. It was hard to spend anytime alone with your friends since Professor Umbridge came to work at Hogwarts. She made it nearly impossible to hold a decent conversation with her numerous educational decrees and what not, convinced that the students were plotting against the ministry. It was refreshing to spend a serene moment in the beauty of the greenhouse.

"Wait," Orchid said slowly, turning to face Neville. "Why are _you_ watering them? They aren't yours. They are Professor Sprout's flowers. Not that I have anything against you watering them," she added, noticing the slightly pained look that appeared on his face. "Just curious. . . "

"W-well, I asked Professor Sprout if I could take care of them," he said, his face burning. As if karma was playing a terrible prank of him, the watering can ran out of water, forcing him to face her and her questioning eyes.

She raised her eyebrows. "Why? They are only silly muggle flowers. Wouldn't you rather work with something more interesting? Like Venomous Tentacula or something?"

He scratched his neck, embarrassed. "I like orchids..." He said quietly, not meeting her gaze.

She beamed at him, playing absentmindedly with her hair. "I like them too. I think they are one of the most beautiful flowers in the world."

"No," Neville said. He sighed, trying to suppress the butterflies that decided to multiply in his stomach. "I mean I _really_ like them."

Orchid laughed softly, raising a confused eyebrow. "I _really_ like them too."

Neville silently cursed himself, wishing he were outgoing and confident enough to stop being so vague. He had liked Orchid since he started school, and it seemed like the only person in the castle who didn't realize it was Orchid herself. Harry had tried to get him to ask her out on a date for years, all of which he replied to with "she doesn't like me." However, Harry's response always rang in her ears. "The only person who doesn't know she likes you, is _you_." Could he be right? He shook his head at the thought. No, that's impossible.

However, under Harry's constant insistence, Neville was blackmailed into talking to her or else Harry said he would hex him at the next D.A. meeting. Shuddering, Neville finally agreed to try. But of course, nothing ever goes as planned for him.

"You know," Neville started, trying to make sure his voice didn't shake as much as his hands were. "Orchids are symbols of love. And pink ones like these," he gingerly plucked a small flower from the bunch and gave it to her, "represent pure affection."

"You think so?" Orchid responded, taking the flower from her friend. Her fingertips gently brushed his, and a spark of electricity seemed to pulse through her body.

"I know so," he said firmly. "I read it in a muggle plant book that Professor Sprout gave to me last year. She thought I would find it interesting. Muggles believe that plants have special meanings associated with each flower. The first one I looked up was an orchid."

A red flush crept into her cheeks as she averted her gaze from his. "Why?"

"B-because, you are the f-first person I think about in t-the morning, and the one I t-think about r-right before I fall a-asleep. I wanted to know w-what your name m-meant," he said, his voice trembling terribly. He hated this. How could he throw him self out there like this? This wasn't Neville, and he wasn't sure who just inhabited his body, but he sure as hell didn't like it.

"Do you mean that?" Orchid said gently, taking a step closer to her friend. "Do you really think about me that much?"

"How could anyone not think about you?" He said with a small laugh. "You are more beautiful than any girl I've ever seen. Even more beautiful than the flowers that share your name."

Though Orchid felt he was exaggerating, she didn't press it. "You really think I'm beautiful?"

"Please, it was terrifying enough saying it the first time," he said, pleadingly slightly. Orchid laughed.

"I-I think about you too. A lot," she said, taking a step closer to him. Her heart was beating so loudly she was almost certain Neville could hear it.

"Really?" He asked, his voice cracking. "You do?" He sounded shocked. Maybe his friend had been right. Maybe she liked him just as much as he liked her? Was it possible?

"Yes," she said. Plucking up the courage (she was, after all, a Gryffindor), she wrapped her arms around his waist into a warm hug. "I like you a lot Neville."

She could hear his heart bumping loudly in his chest. He squeezed her as tightly as he could muster. "I... I like you too."

She pulled away and smiled. "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that."

"You know, I think I do actually," he said, a lopsided smile plastered on his round face. "Harry won't have to hex me now," he added quietly as an afterthought.

"Wait, what?" She asked, her brow furrowed.

"Don't worry about it," he laughed quickly, trying to shake it off.

"Harry put you up to this, didn't he?" she asked, trying hard not to smile. "He's a good man, that Potter." She pulled him in to another hug.

Maybe because it was one of her first tastes of the magical world, or the delicious aroma that filled her lungs, but she always knew there was something about "Greenhouse One" that was magical (save the magical plants of course).

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><p>Thank you for reading :) I tried to make Neville as in-character as possible, but it was very hard when you never see him around a girl he likes in the books.<p>

Also, I am in desperate need of a beta reader. DESPERATE. If you are interested, PLEASE PM me.

-Alaina


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